Complex Numbers

For Short Values of 'Lifetime'

A little perspective, from Cracked...

    5 ‘Once in a Lifetime’ Events That Are Actually A Lot More Frequent Than Once in a Lifetime  

I'll just jump into the list, which, naturally, counts down.

5. Catching A Foul Ball

Sure, it’s no home run ball, but catching a foul ball while watching a live baseball game is still a nice consolation prize.

Judging from some of the videos I've seen, there's more competition, with fewer rules, between the spectators near the end of the ball's trajectory than there is on the field.

The fact is, though, that if you’re a frequent attendee, especially if you’re picking seats based on likely trajectories, the odds really aren’t that astronomical. They basically sit right around 1 in 580.

Hell of an "if" there. I haven't been to a baseball game as a spectator since Nixon was president. Hell, I've played it more than I've watched it. I guarantee you me catching a foul ball would not only be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but a probability-breaking macroquantum event.

4. Total Solar Eclipse

Would it surprise you I knew about this one? No? Okay.

It’s true. The belief that it’s so incredibly rare is probably based on the fact that it takes 375 years to happen again in the same location. If you’ve got a deep love for orbs and an even deeper bank account, though, you could see dozens in your lifetime with the right travel plans.

Yeah, but let's not confuse "happens somewhere on Earth" with "happens where you live." Tell you what, though, if you live around Paducah, Kentucky, you experienced totality in 2017, and will do so again this April. So you're, you know. Doomed.

3. Animals Going Extinct

The fact is, animals are going extinct constantly, in huge numbers. The reason we don’t see more coverage of each particular critter configuration we’re losing isn’t because it’s not happening, it’s because there are literally too many to report on without their own 24-hour news cycle.

2. Blue Moons

I'll give them points for not explicitly stating the false definition here. But they did include a link to a site that still promulgates that mistake, so negative points for that. By the false definition, a few years ago, we had one in January and one in March. That can never happen with the true definition.

The actual last Blue Moon was on August 22, 2021. The next one is this year, on August 19. After that, May 20, 2027. One can only occur in August, November, February, or May. But yeah, they happen every 2-3 years. Which is rare enough to warrant the "once in a blue moon" expression, but the false Blue Moon can never, ever coincide with the true Blue Moon.

To mash up two entries into one fun fact to throw into bar conversation, “once every total solar eclipse” would actually be more frequent than “once in a blue moon.”

Again, sure, if you're privileged enough to be able to travel to the eclipse.

1. Investment Opportunities

And this one should go without saying.

If someone wants you to buy what they're selling, it's because they think your money is worth more than what they're selling. You should probably think so, too. Which should be obvious, but greed can blind you.